Most accomplished black skiers

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Ralph Green of the United States competed in the Mens Slalom Standing during day 13 of the Winter Games NZ in New Zeland.

March 01, 2013

Some of the most accomplished African-American and black Caribbean skiers:

ANDRE HORTON

Horton, from Anchorage, was one of the best-known and successful African-American skiers until his retirement. He was the first black skier to be on the US Alpine Ski Team in 2001. When he was asked for his proudest accomplishment, he told Ski Racing Journal, “I’ve made some black people cry because they couldn’t believe I was racing down a course at a world-class level. Because they could never do it when they were growing up. That’s my quiet smile, as I call it.”

Green, from Brooklyn, stood out for excelling not only as an African-American skier, but as a skier with one leg, the result of a random shooting when he was 16. He made it to the US Disabled Alpine Team and competed in the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin, Italy.

BONNIE ST. JOHN

St. John, from San Diego, is the first African-American to medal in winter Paralympics. After having her leg amputated below the knee due to disease when she was 5, she went on to win a bronze in the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

ERROL KERR

Jamaican Errol Kerr is on his country’s ski team. He first skied at age 4 and started racing competitively at 11. He found success in the sport of Ski Cross and represented Jamaica in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, finishing ninth overall, the best placing by a Caribbean athlete at any Winter Olympics.